Practicing the presence of self is about observing the Divine in all things and people, despite appearances to the contrary. We are loved by others when we identify with our true self because spirit always recognizes spirit – we’re the same soul substance. As our souls evolve during our lifetime, we must find ways to bring our own gifts to the world. It’s a challenge! Although we are spiritual beings, living in a physical world requires us to find ways to channel our energy in the form of meaningful work. And we feel great when our work is appreciated and brings abundance as a result.

Through positive, sustained effort, our soul work can become effortless, an articulation of both our physical and our spiritual natures, allowing us to feel prosperous and see material results. It’s an exercise in opening our channel to the Divine. Once we are actively engaged in the process, we can experience a life filled with abundance. How do we align with our spiritual side and get financial results? If we change our thoughts and attitudes, is it possible to change our financial condition?

Know You Already Have Everything

Prosperity and generation of wealth are results of working with the natural laws of the universe while having awareness of that which is within. Achieving an abundant state is an exercise in self-belief and an expression that we are limitless beings and already abundant. We already have everything; we’re just stepping into a vision of abundance here on earth.

However, in a physical world, it’s easier said than done. It would require 24/7 spiritual awareness – even when we are doing the laundry, which seems nearly impossible. If we want to demonstrate the All by letting our abundance flow… what’s required?

Expect Challenges

Begin to create success by bringing forth what you already have: your innate, individual talents, a good dose of true self-awareness, and the desire to enhance both by using life’s experiences positively and productively. Don’t be alarmed by how much time it takes, be patient, and embrace your challenges. Constraints are always there for our own benefit. Underneath it all, you are the All. That means you are, and always will be, unlimited in what you can do.

Set New Mental Equivalents

Emmet Fox, a “new thought” minister and author in the 1940s, stressed the importance of “setting a mental equivalent” to create an abundant life, borrowing the term from chemistry and physics. For example, engineers must work out the equivalent of heat in order to determine how much energy it represents in the form of another energy. A mental equivalent is a wonderful metaphor for our work in instituting positive change in our lives and world. Like engineers, we can create the equivalent of every experience or object in the physical world by changing the thought to which it corresponds.

Feel what you want with tremendous emotion, be grateful, rejoice in the abundance of everything. Notice joy and prosperity everywhere, be thankful to be part of an incredible, universal spiritual equation of such magnificent complexity that you are humbled by its awesomeness.

Practice Clarity and Interest

Fox’s concept of mastery included two key principles he called clarity and interest. An abundant life is derived from the ability to mentally straddle the line between clarity, or knowing exactly what you want and believing you are already in receipt of it, and interest, or the emotional feelings you have about what you want. People generally have a problem with clarity. First homework assignment in Principles of Manifestation: ask for what you want. Visualize it clearly and revisit the idea often.

Make Decisive Choices Anchored in the Present Moment

Transferring energy, or a vision, into manifested form is a very old biblical lesson. How can two fish and five loaves feed an entire community? By clarity and interest, but also by choice. Choice is the action we take to make it happen. If you feel that you want to manifest a new opportunity with deep emotion, and are thankful for knowing that it already exists at a fundamental energy level, you’ve just created it by making a decisive choice.

Choose Consciously with Gusto

Choice is a funny thing requiring a tremendous sense of self-centeredness and, at times, the wild abandon that accompanies the unexpected. Surprises may land on our path along the way, and if we don’t have a good attitude about the surprise, we aren’t experiencing choice as a creative exercise.

Our sacred gift is the power of choice we have to accomplish our desires in any creative and loving way we see fit, despite our circumstances. Choice is a good thing and we must use it fearlessly, artfully, with a great deal of passion and self-belief. Get creative when you choose, let go of past baggage, be clear about what you want now, and feel it so deeply that you must raise your arms up in an expansive gesture of joyful thanks at knowing it is already part of your reality.

Why Don’t We See Our Abundant World?

Whether you adopt Emmet Fox’s worldview or your own rendition to change your perception on prosperity, a little analysis can make a difference in your transition to a positive mindset. Let’s examine five negative traps that detract from a prosperous vision.

– We are addicted to negativity. The media facilitates the perception of a limited world. As we are all television viewers conditioned by what we are told, we don’t see the value in positive thinking and we don’t see the power of our own minds to make change.

– We think there’s something wrong with abundance. North Americans are full of conflict about our own abundance; we desire a prosperous life but feel there’s something wrong with success. We seem to be easily convinced that it’s not acceptable to have until everyone has the same thing.

– We don’t want responsibility for our lives. The new societal disease is irresponsibility, not just in epidemic proportions among teenagers but throughout all age groups and walks of life. It’s so much easier to let someone else take the blame for our lack of abundance.

– We think abundance is impossible because there are not enough resources. We are confused about limited resources and tend to focus on conservation because industrialized nations are gobbling up the landscapes, endangered species, air, and water at alarming rates.

– We have old programming on the concept of deserving. In my world, people who had a lot of money were ascribed negative qualities: rich, snotty, bossy, nose in the air. Not having money meant you were down-to-earth, grounded, in touch with real life, approachable, good, and wholesome – those were valued qualities in people.

Develop Prosperity Consciousness Through Labyrinth Thinking

Having good imagery helps to unseat ideas that are no longer useful and provides focus to our intentions. Consider life as a journey through a labyrinth, not a maze. A maze is built inside a box and has many entrances and exits, giving us a choice of paths. However, mazes also have dead ends and elaborate twists, turns, and alleys. In the traditional understanding, a labyrinth, combining the imagery of a circle and a spiral, has a meandering, purposeful path to the center. To find the labyrinth’s center, there is only one path in and out with one choice presented: enter and walk the path, or remain outside.

Having prosperity consciousness means that each time we vocalize what we want in our lives, we have to cooperate with spirit and not just wait for it to happen. Action opens the flow. We must have the courage to walk. Everything you experience outside the labyrinth is a reflection of your inner world of thoughts and feelings. In the world around you, consciously and unconsciously, you are demonstrating what is in your heart and mind.

Build a New Mental Equivalent for Abundance

As I’ve been through numerous financial ups and downs of enormous proportions, I’ve laid claim to every Dances with Wolves name on the prosperity continuum, from “Completely Broke Without Car” to “Stands with a Fistful.” During my very long tour on the not-having side, I witnessed the disastrous effects of negative thinking in my own life. Nothing teaches better than experience. Past negative programming, enhanced by a dose of low self-esteem and a loose grip on the true self, is the number one recipe for non-success in all areas of life. And, as the years go on, it picks up strength.

You already know enough at this moment to create what you want in your life, money included, because money is a reflection of what is in your head. It’s not luck, it’s a mental process, energized by your emotions and the action you take to keep going forward. It’s about the discipline of positive thinking and knowing you are unlimited because your supply is unlimited.

Raise Your Vibration Through Affirmations

Everyone gets off track from time to time – it’s normal and a consequence of living in a complex, stressful world. We do a pretty job of cultivating our own negative programming and often bring to the table a lot of negative assumptions about money and abundance that lower our vibration. You might recognize these:

– I’m poor but clean (or good, pure, happy, content).

– You can live a pure life only without material items.

– I will never be able to afford that.

– Money represents temptation and evil.

– I don’t deserve _____ (what I really want).

You won’t be able to demonstrate the law of being with this type of mental muck. Start affirming that you are a prosperity magnet because you possess the boundless wealth of the universe without exception. Spend time raising your vibration. Say that you attract all good things today, not tomorrow or next week. Love yourself, praise your abilities in the present moment, and build feelings of confidence.

– I am a prosperous, intelligent, capable individual who can do anything.

– I deserve health, wealth, love, and happiness in my life. I thank the universe for my opportunities.

– I pay my bills with love and joy.

– I see the abundance in the universe everywhere I go. I see it in myself.

– I am my divine self and I choose to demonstrate my highest good. I prosper everywhere I go because I love life.

Remain open to the possibility that the universe is infinitely more creative than you in choosing the channel for abundance to flow through. If you outline exactly how you want to receive your good, you are definitely giving the idea some clarity. But be flexible.

Start Today Because Today Is What Matters

The world is a demonstration of what is inside our heads. We are here to create exactly what we hold in our consciousness. We must participate in this process – it’s why we are here! Remember, part of our purpose is to express the Divine in physical form, but a little room for human error makes the experience more creative. It makes us more endearing. It’s what makes human triumph so exhilarating. It permits us to evolve. We can get it right in our own personal lives first, then take it to a higher level and go for world change. What have we got to lose by changing our thoughts, other than changing our lives?

Consciously Create Your Day

Wake up with visions of prosperity and abundance. Unseat old, negative programs when the impulse strikes! I hope you will find the following affirmations helpful in changing faulty thinking:

– Can’t-Afford Mindset – The natural state of the unlimited universe is to provide for me. I now have a mindset of abundance because my source is unlimited! I am part of a universal order that provides an abundant and inexhaustible supply. I see abundance reflected in all areas of my life.

– Lacking Abundance – Because the world is a perfect gift, I already have everything. I accept my gifts with joy. Every day I rise in a state of thankfulness for all that exists, especially for the blessings in my life.

– Money Never Comes Easily – I am grateful for every gift in my life. I am an open channel to receiving all my goodness, no matter where it comes from. I am now opening the door to an abundant and prosperous world, and I step through with joy.

For more affirmations, see my companion book, The Women’s Book of Empowerment: 323 Affirmations That Change Everyday Problems into Moments of Potential (The Goddess Network Press, 2005). Available through any major online book retailer or at www.thegoddessnetwork.net.

Taking Spiritual Inventory: Living with Abundance

Analyze. Where do our prosperity and abundance attitudes come from? Creating an abundant life is about mastering the process of thinking. Your abundance is not determined by outside conditions but is a manifestation of your beliefs about what is possible. Ask yourself:

– Was I raised in a family where I felt guilty about “having”? Were my parents uncomfortable with money?

– Have I been afraid to be a success? Do I deserve to have what I want?

– Do I believe I am a spark of the Divine?

– Am I truly thankful, and do I regularly express thanks to the universe for the goodness I have received?

– Do I pay bills with a thankful heart? Do I appreciate the ability I have to pay a bill?

Affirm. Hold a constant state of prosperity consciousness. Making room for more abundance in life is about clarity (knowing what you want) and interest (feeling deep emotion, for example, love, joy, happiness) when you visualize having what you want.

– Write your own affirmation that helps you feel that being abundant and prosperous is a joyful exchange between you and the universe.

– Write an affirmation that enlarges your idea of prosperity, and share the affirmation with someone. Know your supply is limitless and begin to recognize abundance in everything.

Walk the talk. You will attract more abundance in your life with the right actions. Actions are symbolic and meaningful. Be generous: offer a gift in the form of compliment. Clean closets to make more room for opportunity in your life. Another activity to try is a gratitude walk, which is a walking prayer and meditation. With every step you take, find a new way to appreciate and count your blessings. A gratitude walk is a way to demonstrate, or ritualize, thankfulness for your prosperity. Go to a peaceful place, preferably outdoors, and ask spirit to light your way through the day.

Share the spirit. Creating a new mental equivalent to attract abundance and prosperity in your life requires discipline. With clear intentions and a steady focus, you will manifest what you want. You’ve already experienced this in your life. What memories do you have of a past circumstance where you were very focused on getting what you want, and you received it? What do you remember about the experience of manifesting?

– Write down a new dream you have, and the mental equivalent you need to make it happen.

Now vocalize your dream. Share it with someone, describe it with great detail, and say why you believe your dream can come true.